Turning Points
by MasterOfGrey
Summary: Starting in the Aftermath of the Chosen one. Vlad has been revealed, and Ingrid seeks revenge on Stokely while a trapped Count rages at a betrayal from within his cage. Rated T for possible violence, possible death, possible mature themes and whatnot.
1. 1 Not a World of a Lie

Ok, so to start off there are four things I'd like to say here, first and foremost is this:

Over the last week or two I have read hideous amounts of YD fanfiction. So much so that I think there are literally only 4 or 5 fics that I didn't read in the entire YD collection here. (I avoided the Chloe/Vlad and Count D./Elizabeth B. ones, and admittedly gave up on one that made my eyes bleed.) This idea formed somewhat out of my own head and, without doubt, somewhat influenced by what I'd read. So there will doubtlessly be certain details that appear to be borrowed from other fics hereabouts. I promise that I'm doing my best to be as original as possible (considering a fan fiction by nature is somewhat unoriginal), but if you spot something borrowed, please don't be offended, but consider it an honour. **I would only borrow from stories that I thought had amazing ideas that went unfulfilled, or from stories that I thought were beautifully well written.**

The second thing is this:

At the end Vlad only wipes the Branagh's memories of the fact they are Vampires, and in no way affects their actual ability to remember the Dracula family as people. Secondly, when taking the crown Vlad does **not** gain his full powers immediately.

The third thing is this:

I have no idea how long this story will eventually be, I have no idea how it will end. It may go the way of other fics I've written and become basically dead due to me having a life which seems to become ridiculously busy the very moment I have the motivation to write. (Some of my fics have had several months, or even a year between one update and the next at times.) However, it will eventually get finished, so I hope you'll bear with me, add it to your story alert, and review. =D

And finally:

This story is written in the third person perspective style, but will follow Vlad exclusively, unless otherwise stated. I will always state very clearly when it is not effectively Vlad's POV. It will follow his thoughts and actions like a first person POV, but I dislike writing in the first person, and in complex scenes a strictly first person view can be quite restrictive. So, I suppose you could consider this a second person POV maybe? You'll see what I mean when you read it anyway.

**Disclaimer: I do not own Young Dracula, any copyrighted plot lines, or show specific constructions. I think the characters are lost though, as I'd look after them much better than the original writers. XD**

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><p><strong>Not a World of a Lie<strong>

A throbbing pain in his head was the first thing Vlad noticed, gradually becoming aware of sound a moment later. With a groggy feeling he pressed a hand to his eyes, feeling oddly restricted by his clothing.

Confused he simply lay there for a moment with one hand pressed against his eyes, listening as the sound of quiet shuffling and deep voices drew closer. What had happened? He remembered the ceremony; he'd stopped his dad from taking the crown to his grave. Then there'd been a fight, people had died. The image of Ingrid, utterly furious, and simultaneously heart-broken, pushed into his mind, his sister's hands gripping fistfuls of a pile of ash.

Will, it was Will. He remembered now.

The sound of voices and shuffling got louder and he vaguely wondered what they were. Who would be in the castle making those noises? It sounded almost like… leaves?

His eyes flew open as he realised something was wrong. Above his head a starry sky was partially blotted out by the shadowy shape of huge trees. The ground beneath him was not stone, but soil. Stumbling to his feet he put a hand to his head again as the world swirled like a technicolour cape in the wind. He couldn't imagine where he was for a second, leaning on his knees as he recovered from the spell of dizziness. It was then that he realised something rough was scratching his throat and he looked at himself properly. He wasn't wearing his cape and formals anymore. Somehow he'd ended up dressed in a leather jacket and pants.

A thought was half formed in his head when a hand clapped down on his shoulder.

"Vlad."

Spinning in fright he cried out, eyes struggling to focus on the figure now in front of him with the dim lighting.

"They are coming Vlad."

It was Robin… this was the Dreamworld.

Groaning he pressed a hand to his eyes again, rubbing them as he sought better balance on his wobbly legs.

"You must run Vlad. They are coming."

He could hear the words, and he knew they were right. He didn't want to run right now though, it felt as if his legs were jelly and he'd throw up at any sudden movement.

"Why Robin, why am I here? Why are they still after me?"

His last words rose almost to a shout, closer now he heard the shuffling become distinct footfalls, the swish of cloaks over leaves. They were very close now, he could even smell them with the vampiric senses that he had in the Dreamworld.

"They will always be after you. You must run, this time you cannot fight them, you are not prepared."

For a second more he hesitated, he wanted to ask more, to know what was going on. His hesitation was rewarded with a shout of triumph as one of his hunters got close enough to spot him, immediately the sound became no longer that of shuffling and walking, but that of running. Now he had no choice. One last glance at the Robin of this place and he was off, sprinting away deeper into the forest as the sound of his pursuers became more coordinated, homing in on his direction of travel.

It seemed that he ran for a long time, his chest strangely never burning from the exertion. Always ahead of him the shadowy figure of Robin appeared, flickering ahead along his path as the slayers pursued relentlessly. At length he was forced to stop though when he came upon a precipice, illuminated brightly in the moonlight. Soon after the slayers arrived too, clustering together, just far enough back that he could not lure them to the edge, and yet close enough that he could not evade them and escape.

Robin was beside him again, still dressed in his black, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Jump. You will not die."

He couldn't believe what he was hearing, but the other Robin moved his hand form his shoulder to take hold of his wrist instead.

"Jump, it is the only way."

Inside he could feel panic rising, threatening to subvert his ability to reason. The slayers continued to shuffle around, wary of their prey. One of them fumbled around, putting away their stake and drawing a crossbow which they began to wind.

"Jump now Vlad."

Again he hesitated. The cool grip on his wrist tugged and he felt himself pulled sideways as the slayer lifted his crossbow. Startled he opened his mouth but the other Robin spoke first.

"I will jump with you."

The pull on his wrist became enough to pull him off balance as the figure of his friend suddenly tugged backwards with great force, pulling him along as Robin simply stepped out into the air and fell. He fell with him, dragged by the cool but vicelike grip on is wrist. The cliff face blurred past and darkness rushed up at him from below.

He shut his eyes.

And woke up.


	2. 2 A Curious Contemplation

Ok yes it took a while I know. Believe it or not I had this half-written the day after the last one, before life pulled its usual trick.**  
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This one is also a bit shorter than I typically like. I usually go for 1000 words at least per chapter in my stories and this one's only 800. Hope you like it still though. :)**  
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**Disclaimer: I do not own Young Dracula, any copyrighted plot lines, or show specific constructions. I think the characters are lost though, as I'd look after them much better than the original writers. XD**

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><p><strong>A Curious Contemplation<br>**

Vlad sat up with a shout, his eyes flying open and struggling to adjust as the torches set around the room ignited with his awakening. Breathing heavily he put his hand on the side of the coffin for support, looking down towards his feet as he gathered his thoughts. Clearly he wasn't in the Dreamworld anymore. For starters he was wearing the formal clothes and cape he'd been wearing in the throne room before and _not_ the leather. Quickly reaching up with his free hand he checked his mouth, he was also fang-free; more evidence that he was definitely in the real world.

Heaving a sigh with relief he looked up, taking in his surroundings properly for the first time, only to take his hand off the edge of the coffin with another, quieter, shout; recoiling as if stung. He had no idea why he'd ended up in a coffin, clearly someone had put him there, though fortunately whoever it was had seen fit to include this coffin with a swivel mounted support bar which was presently propping the lid right open from a position just behind his head.

Feeling his heart beat slow gradually to a more normal pace he also noted something else very unusual. To his right on the other side of the room was his father's coffin, mounted on a stone plinth like he presumed his must be. This; however, was not his father's old coffin room. In fact neither was this the crypt, or any other room he recognised. At the end of the room where his feet were an opening in the wall led into a staircase which appeared to spiral upwards. There was a torch in a sconce at the end of both his coffin and his father's, and he could tell without looking that another one was on the wall behind him, with a partner on the other side of the room as well. It was really quite plain, very unlike a room he'd have expected to find the Count's coffin in.

Carefully he rose properly and climbed out of the coffin, making use of the stone steps that made up the base of the Plinth. It was then that something caught his eye and he turned, mouth opening in surprise. There was a reason he didn't recognise the room, it was because this room was different to when he saw it last…

The back wall, which he hadn't seen behind him, was not a solid wall. Instead it had a deep recess, making the room roughly T-shaped. In that recess stood two suits of full plate armour, and between them, the unmistakable door to the room containing the Blood Mirror.

Shaking his head he reached out for the solid support of the coffin to lean against as he stared in shock. What on earth was he doing down here with a pair of coffins?

Seeking answers he stumbled over to his dad's ornate black coffin and swung open the lid, only to find it was empty. Clearly he'd have to go elsewhere for answers.

Pausing for a moment he looked around carefully, making sure he hadn't missed anything. After a moment he straightened his cape, satisfied that the room really was as plain as he thought it was, and headed upstairs quietly. Whatever the scene was going to be like upstairs he wasn't sure, but he had a feeling it wasn't going to be all sunshine and happiness.

After climbing for what seemed like an eternity, staying as quiet as he could manage while still breathing, he reached the 'inhabited' part of the castle. Somehow he wasn't quite sure he'd come out where he expected to, and he briefly wondered if the corridors had rearranged, or if his memory was just faulty. Either way the room he came to first seemed deserted and so he kept creeping along, a little more confidently now that he'd come so far without running into anyone. At length he pushed open the doors into the throne room and looked around.

Predictably, the room was deserted.

Baffled he wandered further into the room and leaned against the table, something about the room felt off but he couldn't think what and ended up musing on everyone's whereabouts. Surely someone had to be around, he could see through the half-closed shutters that it was daytime, albeit wet, dreary and miserable, the castle couldn't be totally empty.

It was as this train of thought idled along through his head that Vlad suddenly realised what it was that had felt off about the room. It was so blindingly obvious that he almost kicked himself for not noticing it before. All the most prominent red drapes were now purple… Ingrid's colour.


	3. 3 Under New Management

Finally chapter 3! I do have to apologise for how long it's been but my writing schedule is nothing if not easily shot down by what amounts to the rest of my hectic life. I did warn you it would happen in the first chapter though.

Anywhoo, I do promise the fic will eventually get finished, all of my fics, will eventually get finished. However, that being said I can't make any promises as to how long that will take. (Constructive reviews with suggestions might speed it up though. :D)

**Disclaimer: I do not own Young Dracula, any copyrighted plot lines, or show specific constructions. The characters should definitely come live with me though, I'd look after them way better. :P**

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><p><strong>Under New Management<strong>

Blinking in shock he stared at the purple drapes, mind reeling. Since when did Ingrid run the castle? What had happened to Dad? Where was Ingrid?

He realised he'd been slowly backing away from the draped throne towards the door and as the thought percolated down into his conscious he made the snap decision and ran. Twelve steps and he hauled the great entrance doors wide before he sprinted out into the night.

He got as far as the gate.

With a shuddering creak the great iron gates slammed shut just moments before he got there, the gargoyles' sinister laugh closing down on his chances of escape.

Without thinking about it he stepped sideways to avoid the gargoyles gooey spit shot and exhaled loudly, looking around himself at a loss, "Right, so what now then?"

The sound of fluttering fabric and rushing wind heralded an arrival to his answer, "So sleeping bratty finally woke up. Welcome back to the real world loser."

Vlad turned to look at his sister properly, "Nice to see you too Ingrid, what did you do with Dad?"

"Me?" Ingrid placed a delicate hand to her chest, an expression of mock surprise on her features, "Whatever would I do with that old idiot?"

"Oh I don't know, perhaps ram a stake through his heart! That sounds about your style. You seem to have done away with his stuff in the castle, why not him?"

Ingrid laughed, her high evil cackle cutting through the worry and anger that had been leading Vlad's actions up until now, "Oh brother, you're so cute when you're nasty." Smiling she stepped closer and placed a hand on his shoulder, "No, as much as Dad's pretty much useless at everything I do have to admit he knows how to run away. After the UV cage ran out of batteries he insulted me and buggered off, and quickly too, even I couldn't catch him."

For a moment she looked almost whimsical before the sneer slipped back into place and she spun around to walk back to the castle, purple and black cape fluttering in a wind that seemed to be for her alone, "Come on then little brother, the castle won't let you leave, and I can't kill you without the council coming down on me with their watchdogs, so I want you to come and see what I've been doing since you decided to go for a nap."

Without any other options open to him Vlad just followed along, still silenced by something akin to shock. His Dad had just run off, and he'd left him behind!

As soon as they were back in the throne room Ingrid held up one hand and snapped her fingers. The great table slid to the side of the room and her two cronies from school appeared with a flutter of fabric, "Girls, look who finally woke up."

Smirking evilly they made a mocking gesture of deference, "Hail the Wimpy One."

Vlad just grit his teeth and turned back to Ingrid, "You turned them? Were you lonely with no one to talk to?"

A moment later he found himself up against the wall with Ingrid's hand coiled painfully in his shirt front pressing against his chest, "Look loser, you're still here and alive only cause the council won't let me kill you, and the slayers won't let me move you, but this is my town now. I run things around here and I don't expect you to question me."

Very suddenly her hand was gone and he found himself on the ground as his legs buckled. Near him Ingrid was walking away in a regal manner when she looked to the girls, "Lock him in his room with his coffin, and tell Renfield to take him something horrid to eat. I haven't finished hunting yet."

And she was gone.

One of the girls promptly gripped him by the arm and forcibly dragged him back downstairs, despite his protests, while the other went to get Renfield.

When Renfield arrived shortly after with a fold-out table and rat-cockroach stew he could just tell, if he thought life was hell before, it had only been getting warmed up.


	4. 4 An Unexpected House Guest

Hurrah! So I'm on holidays now for the better part of a month (though the effort involved was ridiculous, whichever uni person decided to put all my exams in the first week of exams when I was sick with the flu is going to get an earful one of these days). However, since I now have all this free time I'm back to doing some writing, and since I stumbled across a wonderful fic by starrrz I've been motivated to continue this one. So without further ado, turning points part 4.

**Disclaimer: I do not own Young Dracula, any copyrighted plot lines, or show specific constructions. The characters should definitely come live with me though, I'd look after them way better. :P**

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><p><strong>An Unexpected House Guest<strong>

It was some days until Ingrid decided to let him out of his cell, he got so hungry that eventually even Renfield's cooking became edible, albeit in small portions. Exactly how much time had passed was hard to tell since the room had no windows, but he assumed Renfield would bring food twice a day, under that assumption it had been five days with no one but the suits of armour to talk to when the door unlatched earlier than he expected and Ingrid herself walked in.

"Hello brother…. Eww you look disgusting and," she sniffed the air, "garlic this room stinks something horrid!"

Vlad just glared at her from his position on the floor where he'd been leaning on the coffin plinth, "Well you've had me locked in a mouldy old room for days! It's not like I can do much when I can't even pace more than six steps!"

Ingrid huffed, "Forgot you weren't a real vampire yet. Anise!"

A moment later One of Ingrid's cronies appeared at her shoulder wearing a goth/scene style outfit in Ingrid's colours, something Vlad would soon discover was practically a uniform around here now, "Yes my lady?"

"Take Vlad to our new cloak room and get him cleaned up, in fact, put him in a new outfit, purple, burn this one, he'll look much better in purple, and as long as he keeps his mouth shut the uniformity will provide a great deal of support against the council representative."

Pausing she glared pointedly at Vlad, "And trust me little brother, you want to be in support with me against the council representative."

With a short, high manic laugh Ingrid vanished back up the stairs. Anise then grabbed him by the arm and he felt the familiar disconcerting tug in his stomach as she flitted him to a different room.

Blinking around himself he looked at the room around him, it could have been any one of a number of rooms which they'd never had cause to use while it was just the three of them in the castle. Now it has racks of clothing along one wall, a small fire on the other and what appeared to be old-styled changing room stalls on the far wall. Looking at him critically Anise tutted lightly and shook her head, "You're so short, I don't know how she expects me to fit you into something. Go on then, go get those things off, I'll throw something over for you in a minute. Oh, and don't try to run away, there's a reason I'm Ingrid's first."

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><p>Meanwhile in the throne room…<p>

Ingrid reappeared in the throne room and inclined her head ever so slightly to the council representative, "He'll be along shortly Ovidue, I'm sure you can appreciate that in a castle like this there's always a few matters to attend to first."

As if on cue another vampire walked past in gothic uniform with a sack of something that seemed headed for the kitchens, "Ryan, when you're done delivering that get Renfield to give you the stuff for cleaning, I want the special coffin room clean and smelling of nothing but rock and dust by morning, it's a mess at the moment."

Ovidue, for his part, merely raised a delicately shaped eyebrow in her direction and smirked ever so faintly, "Of course, I imagine the future grand high vampire has important things, though I wonder that he sends his sister, a woman, to keep his castle represented when there are perfectly suitable men whom he could have as his primary servants."

Ingrid pulled a face, eyes flashing red, "Well perhaps unlike you, Vlad actually appreciates all the members of his family."

Ovidue just chuckled, "Dearest, you should definitely learn to control yourself, your feeble little powers aren't going to scare me."

"Well at least the council sent someone competent."

With a swish of her cloak she waltzed past the council rep toward the double doors to the lounge, flicking them open ahead of her with a wave of her hand, "Come and make yourself comfortable representative, I'll send one of the girls along with a cup of blood while you wait."

Ovidue, for his part, selected the most quality looking arm chair by the fire and sat, steepling his fingers thoughtfully as Ingrid exited by yet another door. There was definitely something curious going on in the house of Dracula. The count's exaggerations were clearly that, but perhaps, just maybe, he had something of a point, and he would have to get to the bottom of it.

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><p>Back in the cloak room Vlad had just stumbled out of the changing cubicle where Anise was straightening his clothes properly with a look of disgust on her face when Ingrid entered.<p>

"Ah brother, perfect, you do look better in purple, much more sinister. Not that it'll do you any good once you open your mouth of course but we can but try."

Snapping her fingers at Anise she cleared the room and then approached Vlad, placing her hand on his shoulder as she fixed him with her gaze.

"Now little brother, you will listen to me. The council has sent a representative called Ovidue to assess the situation here, and escort you back to Transylvania if he deems it necessary. However, I need you here, you may have noticed I have a little operation going on over here and I don't need anyone messing it up. There are dozens of slayers camped out in various ways all over Stokely and the surrounding countryside, they've heard about the Chosen One and they're not stupid but, after you zapped their top slayer Kurt a way back they're cautious, and I've recruited enough extra muscle that they haven't dared attack the castle."

"Ingrid! What happened to keeping a low profile!"

Ingrid just gave him a long-suffering 'you're an idiot' look and continued, "Dad's not the only one who's been back to Transylvania in the last couple of weeks. If the vampire world gets a look at you while you're still a wimpire like you are now you won't live long enough to get your full powers. Either that or they'll pack you up and send you to hide with Dad wherever he's gone for your own safety, but I know how the council works, you'll have at least three attempts on your life before they'll move you, and if you die then my little plans are all going to the gutter. But that doesn't matter to me little brother, because if you leave my plans go anyway with all these slayers around, so you have to tell Ovidue that you want to stay here, with your sister, where most of the vampire world doesn't know where you are so you can hone your powers before becoming the grand high vampire, got it?"

Vlad just stared at her, "Are you mad, why would I voluntarily stay here with you! Of course I'll say yes if he says to take me away."

Immediately, Ingrid smacked him over the head, her voice rising in anger, "You'll stay because if you don't I'll drain that little breather boy of yours and mail him to you in a coffin!"

"No!"

"Yes! Now get out there and follow my lead, I'll kill Ovidue myself if I have to in order to keep you here."

Quietly, with Ingrid's hand on his shoulder and her smirk burning into the back of his head he allowed himself to be lead out of the cloak room to the lounge, wishing he could be anywhere else right at that moment.

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><p>Meanwhile in stokely Robin tried to ring his best friend on his mobile once again, and again received nothing for his trouble except an electronic voice saying, "Sorry, your call could not be connected, please check the number and try again."<p>

Angrily he shoved the phone in his pocket and pulled his shoes on, Vlad had been gone for nearly a week now, and this time Ingrid wouldn't stop him seeing him.


End file.
